4.6 TD buff discussion: GC/ M36/ Toaster etc

As a fan of the camping style of play, I am always excited when TDs get a buff! However, I think WG is more cautious about buffing compared to what they did to SU-100, Stug III. I'm opening up this threads for advice on whether these TDs are now 'finally fun to play...'

GC: I am interested in GC as its a tank I've never played and was on 30% sale so I got one. No gun upgrade, only more armor. Does it make the tank usable? should i invest spare parts in upgrading it?

M36: Happy with the gun improvement. Maybe it will shine even brighter after Tiger is nerfed.

Toaster/Flakbus: I have never played it because I keep on killing them with HE. Is it finally playable or something to free xp all the way? (probably not, but good to hear other views).

To play these tanks correctly, you have to depend on your team to do the spotting and hold the line, but the player quality is getting lower and lower. I would like much easier to player tanks with armor or mobility or both, say the ARL44.

As a fan of the camping style of play, I am always excited when TDs get a buff! However, I think WG is more cautious about buffing compared to what they did to SU-100, Stug III. I'm opening up this threads for advice on whether these TDs are now 'finally fun to play...'

GC: I am interested in GC as its a tank I've never played and was on 30% sale so I got one. No gun upgrade, only more armor. Does it make the tank usable? should i invest spare parts in upgrading it?

M36: Happy with the gun improvement. Maybe it will shine even brighter after Tiger is nerfed.

Toaster/Flakbus: I have never played it because I keep on killing them with HE. Is it finally playable or something to free xp all the way? (probably not, but good to hear other views).

Aced the SaU 40 using the 105mm with equal mix of AP, HEAT, and HE (didn't use any HE though). 65mm is give or take about the same as the Hetzer with 105mm. In fact I think now these two 105mm derp guns are suddenly more closely matched than ever before.

Churchill GC; played it a bit way back many patches ago. 32 pounder is quite deadly in that tier IMO. Peek out of left corners and stay long range. Don't brawl, EVER. With 130mm front armor it is now almost impervious to the T-34 57mm, Pz IV 75mm, and American 75/76mm guns with AP head-on. Premmo of course is different story

Flak Bus: One of my favs back in Tier V if you can stay sneaky spooky scary skeleton. With the middle 88mm it has wunderbar firing arc, and it is quite nimble and mobile for a turretless TD; will keep up with even light tanks CoD-ing it in my experience so long as your tracks don't get blown.

Spotted, though, and everyone rushes to kill you like a housewife chasing a cockroach.

V39: I have always thought of this one as the French version of Flatpanzer before 4.6 nerf minus the uber-blazing ROF. It is still good ROF, just not on the same level as CURRENT Flatpanzer.

In the name of all that's holy, Jackson is now great again! The ROF boost was a BIG help. You could now almost play this as a ersatz medium like it was the good old days (that is, when DPM tanks were few and far between at +2/-2 MM spread and autoloader tanks didn't exist in higher tiers yet).

In the name of all that's holy, Jackson is now great again! The ROF boost was a BIG help. You could now almost play this as a ersatz medium like it was the good old days (that is, when DPM tanks were few and far between at +2/-2 MM spread and autoloader tanks didn't exist in higher tiers yet).

The Jackson pre-buff has always been great in the right hands. In fact, for as long as one knows what they're doing, the Jackson can act like a medium because it can actually keep up with the mediums too. With the gun buff...

​But in the Flak Bus the firing arc is so piss-poor that I actually prefer using the middle gun, the 88mm L/56. It gives you a rather wide firing arc allowing you to move less often when tracking long range moving targets and allows you to keep up with CODing lights or mediums so long as your track isn`t blown, and the penetration values are good enough for Tier 5 MM spread these days.

​But in the Flak Bus the firing arc is so piss-poor that I actually prefer using the middle gun, the 88mm L/56. It gives you a rather wide firing arc allowing you to move less often when tracking long range moving targets and allows you to keep up with CODing lights or mediums so long as your track isn`t blown, and the penetration values are good enough for Tier 5 MM spread these days.

True. The 2nd gun is useful around the corners

Only accepts plats. Those that need help in grinding or wants to do stupid stuff, invite me. other than that, dont.

I'm a bit disappointed with the buff of Jackson. I don't think the pre-buffed gun is a major issue here. I could actually do lots of decent matches with arguably fair share of damage. The main issue is the lack of turret armor which makes the 10-degree depression rather useless. The turret can sometimes be bouncy but in most cases the enemies can penetrate my turret, rendering hull down tactic implausible. Still, I will live with higher dpm but don't seem to have improved a lot in my matches.

The armor buff for GC is certainly necessary because pretty much every tier V-VII tank can penetrate its pre-buffed frontal armor, which is a totally catastrophic joke. Now, you can try to play it like an SU-100. However, since I didn't play it, I couldn't say much of this tank.

I'm a bit disappointed with the buff of Jackson. I don't think the pre-buffed gun is a major issue here. I could actually do lots of decent matches with arguably fair share of damage. The main issue is the lack of turret armor which makes the 10-degree depression rather useless. The turret can sometimes be bouncy but in most cases the enemies can penetrate my turret, rendering hull down tactic implausible. Still, I will live with higher dpm but don't seem to have improved a lot in my matches.

The armor buff for GC is certainly necessary because pretty much every tier V-VII tank can penetrate its pre-buffed frontal armor, which is a totally catastrophic joke. Now, you can try to play it like an SU-100. However, since I didn't play it, I couldn't say much of this tank.

SU-100 can afford aggressive playstyle because of it's mobility and big alpha gun. Haven't tried the GC in a while but mobility is slow from what I remember. Gun is definitely usable but needs to keep distance and avoid getting CODed.

I'm a bit disappointed with the buff of Jackson. I don't think the pre-buffed gun is a major issue here. I could actually do lots of decent matches with arguably fair share of damage. The main issue is the lack of turret armor which makes the 10-degree depression rather useless. The turret can sometimes be bouncy but in most cases the enemies can penetrate my turret, rendering hull down tactic implausible. Still, I will live with higher dpm but don't seem to have improved a lot in my matches.

The armor buff for GC is certainly necessary because pretty much every tier V-VII tank can penetrate its pre-buffed frontal armor, which is a totally catastrophic joke. Now, you can try to play it like an SU-100. However, since I didn't play it, I couldn't say much of this tank.

I can't complain about the Jackson's gun buff though I've lived well without it before. On the other hand, the Jackson's armor profile has served me wel just the same. Perhaps you were not using enough cover for hulldown that the opfor can hit that vulnerable area between the Jackon's gun mantlet and transmission cover (happens to everyone)? Or maybe you just got unlucky that whoever shot you managed to hit the area just below the gun mantlet?